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Obadiah Hakeswill
Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill is a recurring villain from Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novel series and its subsequent television adaptations. He is a completely insane British Army sergeant who recruited Richard Sharpe to the British Army when he was living in Yorkshire, and has a fearsome reputation for abusing his men, whilst presenting himself as a model soldier to his commanding officers, giving him free reign over the men who have him as their sergeant. In the TV series, he was portrayed by the late Pete Posthlewaite, who also played Mr. Jones in the 1999 version of Animal Farm. Backstory Hakeswill is known to have been born somewhere in England, in a settlement whose name ends in "-dale". His mother's name was Biddy Hakeswill, whilst his father is unknown. Biddy died when Obadiah was eleven. It is stated repeatedly in the novels that he worships her; however, she may have been abusive to him. Obadiah was villainous right from the start. At the age of twelve, he tried to rape the daughter of a reverend, by threatening the girl with a snake. At the trial, however, he was convicted with stealing a sheep, in order to protect the victim, and subsequently received the death penalty, fated to die by hanging. On the day of execution, he was hanged with several other men. Obadiah should have died, but a rainstorm occured, and the crowd was dispersed. One man in the crowd was his uncle, who cut his nephew down from the gallows, and told him to flee. Although he survived, the noose damaged Obadiah irreperably; his neck was scarred from the rope, and he was left with a severe facial tick. Psycologically, he was left with an overinflated opinion of himself, thinking that he was immortal, unable to die, chosen by God. Having survived death, Obadiah did as his uncle suggested, and fled south. Sometime after, he enlisted in the British Army's 33rd Regiment of Foot, initially serving as a drummer boy. He eventually rose to the rank of sergeant, in part thanks to his dedication to foot drill and military duties in sight of officers. Away from officers, however, he was, in essence, a holy terror, bullying the men under his command, threatening to have them flogged for imaginary infractions if they didn't let him sleep with their wives, or surrender their possessions to him. First contact with Sharpe In the 1790s, Hakeswill was serving as a recruiting sergeant for the 33rd. One of the soldiers he recruited was then sixteen-year-old Richard Sharpe. Unlike every other soldier under his command, Sharpe actually stood up to Hakeswill, and consequently became a thorn in the sadistic sergeant's side, in every campaign they served in. Early novel story ''Sharpe's Tiger'' By 1799, serving in India, Hakeswill can no longer take Sharpe's insubordination. He conspires with the commanding officer of their company, Captain Charles Morris, to have Sharpe framed for a very serious crime, and then executed for it. Sharpe was sentenced to 2,000 lashes of the whip, which would have killed him, if not for the army commander, then Colonel Arthur Wellesley, future Duke of Wellington, halting the whipping after 200 lashes. Wellesley had a plan for Sharpe, using him and a commissioned officer, Lieutenant William Lawford, to pretend to be defectors enlisting in the army of their enemy, the Sultan of Mysore, and rescue a senior British officer, Colonel Hector McCandless, the intelligence chief in the British East India Trading Company. Following this, Hakeswill nurses a grudge against Sharpe, even going so far as to betray him and Lawford to the Sultan when he is captured. His execution at the hands of the Sultan's bodyguards is stopped, after he reveals that Sharpe and Lawford are spies. He is consequently locked up with Sharpe, McCandless and Lawford, soon to be sacrificed as offerings to the gods to ensure victory, and leading the British forces into a trap. Sharpe, McCandless and Lawford escape, and leave Hakeswill to be eaten by the Sultan's tigers. Unfortuantely for them, the tigers had already eaten, so Hakeswill escaped. ''Sharpe's Triumph'' Four years later, Hakeswill resurfaces, hunting for Sharpe, who has been promoted straight to the rank of sergeant following his mission in Mysore. Hakeswill and Morris again plan to have Sharpe killed, this time by beating up Morris and receiving an arrest warrant for Sharpe. Hakeswill then receives the warrant, and recruits six privates (three are named Lowe, Flaherty and Kendal, the other three are left unnamed) to help him. Joining the army under the command of now Major General Wellesy, Hakeswill is incensed by the future Duke's rapid promotion through the ranks, and by the fact that Sharpe is on a mission in enemy territory; even worse, Hakeswill himself and his crew have been assigned to the baggage train. When Sharpe and McCandless return, Hakeswill presents the warrant to the colonel, who alters it, making it appear that Sharpe's name has been spelled wrong, and then making the psycopathic sergeant return for a new warrant. Wellesley intervenes, letting Hakeswill stay with his army, but in charge of the baggage train. McCandless later confronts Hakeswill about the warrant, revealing that he knows that the date on which the attack took place was after Sharpe had been moved to elsewhere. In the midst of battle, Hakeswill stabs and kills McCandless with a bayonet. At the end of the battle, Sharpe receives a battlefield commission, holding the rank of ensign, in the 74th Regiment, much to Hakeswill's horror, refusing to recognise that his enemy is ranked above him. Sharpe then leaves him in the enclosure of an elephant. Category:Military Category:Master of Hero Category:Mentally Ill Category:Book Villains Category:TV Show Villains Category:Murderer Category:Deceased Category:Conspirators Category:Abusers